Topic: Investor

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple is readying yet another bond sale, and has essentially purchased an equivalent value in corporate debt to equal the world's largest mutual fund.

Apple's second fiscal quarter of 2017 was largely a mixed bag, in the eyes of investors, who saw some positives but were also disappointed by some results. Analysts reacting to the quarterly results were largely indifferent on the short term, remaining focused on growth of the company's Services business and an anticipated "iPhone 8" super-cycle.

Apple increased its research and development budget to nearly $2.8 billion during the second fiscal quarter of 2017, meaning the company spent a almost $5.7 billion on the line item over the past six months.

As of the end of the March quarter, Apple held $256.8 billion cash on hand, with the vast majority of it held overseas awaiting possible repatriation tax reform -- if the U.S. government is inclined to cooperate.

After returning to growth for the holiday quarter, iPhone sales dipped once again in the March frame, though Apple's revenue grew to $52.9 billion. Following the news, the company held a conference call with media and analysts, and notes of interest follow.

Despite revealing mixed quarterly results on Tuesday, Apple simultaneously announced plans to extend its capital return program by $50 billion and a full year, reaching the $300 billion mark by March 2019.

Apple on Tuesday revealed the results of its second quarter of fiscal year 2017, earning $52.9 billion in revenue and posting year-over-year growth, but once again saw iPhone sales shrink from the same period a year ago.

As the NASDAQ opened on Tuesday morning, Apple's stock price at the opening bell drove its market capitalization above historical highs, with $800 billion in sight and possibly reachable before the quarterly earnings report.

A new analyst report suggests that Apple should acquire long-time media partner Disney to smooth out seasonal concerns about earnings and make a massive end-to-end media development and delivery platform -- but this is not the first time this unlikely scenario has been bandied about.

Apple's stock price on Tuesday hit a new record of $143.80, eclipsing the $1,000 per share pre-split benchmark, and if it keeps pace for the rest of the week will beat the company's old market capitalization record.

Estimates for Apple on Wall Street remain "way too low," in the eyes of analyst Timothy Arcuri, who believes that the combination of a new iPhone form factor with an aging install base could create a "powder keg" for shares of the company.

Wall Street forecasts for Apple stock are climbing, with another report claiming that the stock will hit $155 over the summer of 2017 on pre-release hype of the "iPhone 8" and continued expansion of the Services division that includes the App Store, Apple Music, and AppleCare.

An analyst claims that Apple is on track for its services business revenue estimates so far, and any large acquisitions it may make will just accelerate the growth driven by the iPhone 7, and successor "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 8" devices expected in 2017.